Rain on the Roof
by J9
Summary: The sound brings back memories for Robin (Post Chosen, Faith-Wood)


****

Title: Rain on the Roof

****

Author: Jeanine

****

Pairing: Robin/Faith

****

Season: Post-_Chosen_

****

Notes: For the LiveJournal Writer's Choice "Rain" challenge, and this is one that kicked me all over the place while I was writing it! 

***

The rain falls in heavy torrents, and Robin crouches in his hiding place, watching his mother fight the blond-haired vampire, just like he's watched her fight on so many other nights. This fight is different though; this vampire is putting up more of a struggle than most, and Robin's scared, more scared than he's ever been. His worst fears seem to be confirmed when the monster gets Mama, is holding her around the neck, and Robin jumps, in his fright knocking over the trashcan beside him. Appalled, because the one thing Mama always told him was to stay quietly out of sight, he stares at the fallen can, listens to the metallic echo of the rain as it falls onto it, and it's only when he hears two voices, the vampire and Mama, that he looks back, sees the vampire running away and Mama coming towards him. 

She takes him by the hand and she smiles at him, tells him that he did good, did just as she taught him. He doesn't feel like he did though, just feels hungry and cold and he wants to go home. Mama says no, that it's not safe, offers to take him to Crowley's house, but he wants to stay with her, tells him so, isn't happy when she tells him that the mission is what matters. But he nods, and she smiles, tells him he's her baby, and in that instant, when he can smell her perfume, patchouli and lilac, he feels safe and loved, like nothing can touch him. So he lets Mama lead him away from the bench, from the fallen trashcan, out of the rain. He stops though, remembering something, runs back to retrieve the fallen stake, hears Mama calling his name…

He's startled into wakefulness when a female voice, most decidedly not his mother, calls his name, but he doesn't open his eyes, trying to delay the inevitable as long as possible. He knows that the dream was just that, a dream, albeit one that he's had his whole life. It was a long time ago, and now he's not in a park in New York, he's on a school bus, driving to Who-Knows-Where-ville. Now, as then, there's a strong wind and it's raining heavily, the noise against the roof of the bus the same as the noise of the rain against the trashcan in his dream. This time though, he's not cold and scared, instead, he's strangely comfortable, considering that these seats aren't built for comfort. 

Although that could be down to the fact that now, as then, his hand is held by a Slayer who's spent the last number of days and weeks looking after him.

He really wants to go back to sleep, but it's made difficult by the Summers sisters having yet another clash, with Dawn insisting, "…Giles told me to ask Robin if we should stop for the night…" 

"Which is why you hollered his name the length of the bus," Buffy retorts, and Robin can picture Dawn rolling her eyes. 

"It's not like I knew he was sleeping…" Dawn continues, but is interrupted by Buffy. 

"You know Faith would kick your ass if you woke him, right?"

"Like anything's going to wake her," Dawn snickers, then pauses, as if she's considering something, and Robin can almost feel her gaze on him. "Who knew? Faith, a cuddler." 

At that, Buffy mutters, "Let me tell you a little something about tempting fate…" as she does something that makes Dawn gasp sharply. With that, there are footsteps, and then the only voices Robin can hear are muffled syllables from the front of the bus, which is lucky, because he's finding it hard to keep back a smile. Ever since they outran the collapse of Sunnydale, Faith's been very open about her desire to sleep for a week, which no-one would begrudge her, except that everyone's noticed she's doing all her sleeping with him. 

Which is not something Robin is going to complain about, especially since Faith was the one who treated their initial encounter as a one-night-stand, and who literally had to be goaded into thinking about a repeat performance. And he's certainly not going to complain right now, when Faith's head is on his shoulder, her legs thrown over his, one of his arms tight around her shoulders, his free hand trapped between both of hers. 

He could very easily get used to this, and he's seized by the irresistible impulse to look at her, so carefully, just in case anyone is still around, he opens his eyes, looks down at her. A wide smile spreads across his face when he sees a pair of very amused brown eyes staring back up at him, an answering grin coming to her own lips. He lifts one eyebrow, is about to say something and she shakes her head, raising her fingers to her lips before burrowing her head into his chest once again, showing every sign of wanting to stay there for the foreseeable future. 

Which is not something that Robin has a problem with. After all, he wants to stay here for the foreseeable future too. 

So he closes his eyes and goes back to sleep, letting the rhythm of the rain on the roof act as his lullaby, and hers. 

Together, they sleep soundly as the bus travels on. 


End file.
